The View from the Couch - by Gavin McDougald!
April 23rd 2008 - A Contact Sport
What defines something as a sport?
According to the dictionary definition, it is "an activity governed by a set of rules or customs requiring physical exertion and competition."
If that's so, then the many sports fans who are embittered by the seemingly endless coverage of politics these days overshadowing the usually omnipresent sports talk, should snap out of it.
Politics is a sport, at least at this level. And sports wise, it doesn't get much better than this.
Applying that aforementioned definition to the Presidential election, first off, it has certainly been active.
You can't flip on the tube without seeing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain running onto a stage somewhere, then standing for hours yelling at the top of their lungs about just how great they are, how great things will be, and how much their opponents could screw things up. Afterwards, for hours more, there they are shaking thousands of hands, posing for photos, smiling outrageously, laughing crazily, and on occasion even throwing in a mock punch or two. Or in Hillary's case, a shot or two.
Physically demanding to say the least, they are doing that from eight in the morning until midnight every day of the week. That's what is described as the "rigors of the campaign." Any questions about the 71-year old McCain being too old to be President are immediately rebuffed by him saying, "come and spend a day campaigning with me sometime and you'll see."
Eight AM to midnight with John McCain? Sounds like fun.
Just like a sport, political campaigning is "governed by a set of rules or customs." Again, just like a sport, those who know how to play the game of bending the rules, and even sometimes breaking them, and getting away with it, prosper the most. Working the boundaries of things like campaign financing for example, which is actually against the law, is looked on with a nod and a wink as just part of the "game."
Just like athletes, when politicians are caught cheating, it's never their fault. It's always, "I never said that." Or, "you are mischaracterizing my words." Or "Whoever said that is not associated with my campaign."
At least that's the way it used to be. The game is changing. In the YouTube world of today, whatever you say to any one anywhere is being recorded - and tested. See Obama getting caught at a San Francisco fundraiser denigrating blue-collar workers and Hillary lying about sniper fire and corkscrew landings in Bosnia for examples of that.
Finally, competitive?
This thing is unprecedented. With their 24/7 coverage and stables of pundits all trying to get a word in edgewise, cable channels (except for old what's-his-name's mouthpiece, FoxNews) are seeing record ratings. These two never-before-seen democratic candidates are in full battle mode while McCain looks on from the sidelines urging them both to fight harder and harder, letting them do his work for him.
So, if we can classify the "the race for the White House" as a sport, what kind of sport is it?
It's been going on for the past 18 months, so it's more than a marathon. That's certainly a long regular season as well. The best comparison is perhaps a series of prize fights defined by the primaries with opponents getting knocked out to determine to se who are the final two #1 contenders - and then let them have at it to name the undisputed champion of the world.
Or, in this case, the most powerful person on the planet.
If we can classify Presidential candidates as athletes, who would the three left standing be.
Since it's "America's pastime," let's stick to baseball players.
Hillary Clinton might be the most competitive, or at least combative, person on the planet Earth. If she were an athlete, she'd be Pete Rose. Rose always gave it his all on the field - even during All-Star games. Even when he was caught lying he denied it until he was put into a position where he could not deny it any longer. Just like Hillary, after coming clean, he simply described what he did as "human."
Her democratic opponent on the other hand is more like Alex Rodriguez. As gifted as anyone in their particular fields have ever been, but when it comes to crunch time, both seem to come up just a bit short. For their fans however, all are expecting this to be "their year."
As for John McCain, who has seemingly been running for the job for the past 20 years, perhaps he is best personified by the aged pitcher on the mound for the Cleveland Indians in Major League. Eddie Harris was dying on the mound yet insisted that, despite his arm being spaghetti, "he had one more out in him Skipper."
Who will come out on top in the end is still up in the air, but until it's over, the only certainty is it will be a battle royal.
Or, as perhaps the greatest political athlete of his time, Bill Clinton, said earlier this month...
"This is a contact sport. If you don't want to play, keep your uniform off."
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
Bet on the hard hitting political action at betED.com
April 23rd 2008 - A Contact Sport
What defines something as a sport?
According to the dictionary definition, it is "an activity governed by a set of rules or customs requiring physical exertion and competition."
If that's so, then the many sports fans who are embittered by the seemingly endless coverage of politics these days overshadowing the usually omnipresent sports talk, should snap out of it.
Politics is a sport, at least at this level. And sports wise, it doesn't get much better than this.
Applying that aforementioned definition to the Presidential election, first off, it has certainly been active.
You can't flip on the tube without seeing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain running onto a stage somewhere, then standing for hours yelling at the top of their lungs about just how great they are, how great things will be, and how much their opponents could screw things up. Afterwards, for hours more, there they are shaking thousands of hands, posing for photos, smiling outrageously, laughing crazily, and on occasion even throwing in a mock punch or two. Or in Hillary's case, a shot or two.
Physically demanding to say the least, they are doing that from eight in the morning until midnight every day of the week. That's what is described as the "rigors of the campaign." Any questions about the 71-year old McCain being too old to be President are immediately rebuffed by him saying, "come and spend a day campaigning with me sometime and you'll see."
Eight AM to midnight with John McCain? Sounds like fun.
Just like a sport, political campaigning is "governed by a set of rules or customs." Again, just like a sport, those who know how to play the game of bending the rules, and even sometimes breaking them, and getting away with it, prosper the most. Working the boundaries of things like campaign financing for example, which is actually against the law, is looked on with a nod and a wink as just part of the "game."
Just like athletes, when politicians are caught cheating, it's never their fault. It's always, "I never said that." Or, "you are mischaracterizing my words." Or "Whoever said that is not associated with my campaign."
At least that's the way it used to be. The game is changing. In the YouTube world of today, whatever you say to any one anywhere is being recorded - and tested. See Obama getting caught at a San Francisco fundraiser denigrating blue-collar workers and Hillary lying about sniper fire and corkscrew landings in Bosnia for examples of that.
Finally, competitive?
This thing is unprecedented. With their 24/7 coverage and stables of pundits all trying to get a word in edgewise, cable channels (except for old what's-his-name's mouthpiece, FoxNews) are seeing record ratings. These two never-before-seen democratic candidates are in full battle mode while McCain looks on from the sidelines urging them both to fight harder and harder, letting them do his work for him.
So, if we can classify the "the race for the White House" as a sport, what kind of sport is it?
It's been going on for the past 18 months, so it's more than a marathon. That's certainly a long regular season as well. The best comparison is perhaps a series of prize fights defined by the primaries with opponents getting knocked out to determine to se who are the final two #1 contenders - and then let them have at it to name the undisputed champion of the world.
Or, in this case, the most powerful person on the planet.
If we can classify Presidential candidates as athletes, who would the three left standing be.
Since it's "America's pastime," let's stick to baseball players.
Hillary Clinton might be the most competitive, or at least combative, person on the planet Earth. If she were an athlete, she'd be Pete Rose. Rose always gave it his all on the field - even during All-Star games. Even when he was caught lying he denied it until he was put into a position where he could not deny it any longer. Just like Hillary, after coming clean, he simply described what he did as "human."
Her democratic opponent on the other hand is more like Alex Rodriguez. As gifted as anyone in their particular fields have ever been, but when it comes to crunch time, both seem to come up just a bit short. For their fans however, all are expecting this to be "their year."
As for John McCain, who has seemingly been running for the job for the past 20 years, perhaps he is best personified by the aged pitcher on the mound for the Cleveland Indians in Major League. Eddie Harris was dying on the mound yet insisted that, despite his arm being spaghetti, "he had one more out in him Skipper."
Who will come out on top in the end is still up in the air, but until it's over, the only certainty is it will be a battle royal.
Or, as perhaps the greatest political athlete of his time, Bill Clinton, said earlier this month...
"This is a contact sport. If you don't want to play, keep your uniform off."
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
Bet on the hard hitting political action at betED.com
